Positive expiratory pressure (“PEP”) occurs when there is positive pressure present in the lungs of a person during exhalation. Typically, this positive expiratory pressure can be created by pursing one's own lips (for example, after exercising to help catch your breath). Positive expiratory pressure therapy is a clinically recognized treatment for persons having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, atelectasis, or other conditions resulting in collapsed alveoli and which might in turn produce retained secretions in the lungs. During this therapy, positive expiratory pressure can be created during exhalation with a PEP device.
With PEP therapy, a patient exhales against a resistance created by the PEP device to generate expiratory pressure. Conventionally, therapeutic PEP devices are designed and utilized in a hospital or home environment because conventional therapeutic PEP devices are relatively large and/or need a power source to function. Thus, a patient desiring PEP therapy cannot always get treatment when needed. What is needed then is a PEP device and method to create positive expiratory pressure that can be small enough to be carried with a user and is discreet to use.